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Twitter has talked about removing the legacy verified checkmark for a while, and it’s now working on that plan. The social network has begun removing the original blue ticks from users’ profiles – former Verified employees of Engadget can confirm. From now on, you have to pay $8 per month for Blue to get that symbol back. Businesses can get a gold checkmark without a subscription, while government and multilateral organization accounts get a gray checkmark.
The company introduced verification in 2009 to reduce the possibility of impersonation, and has focused on well-established (though not necessarily famous) people in fields such as politics, entertainment and media. When Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, however, he Claimed There were too many “corrupt” verified accounts and it was necessary to abandon the legacy system. He portrayed Blue as a way to democratize Checkmark.
That’s not how it turned out. Twitter had to pause and relaunch Blue after trolls misused the feature to impersonate notable figures, including Musk. The firm began a review process and restricted sign-ups from accounts that had been around for less than 90 days. The gold and brown checkmark restored some of those anti-impersonation measures, but many celebrities, journalists, and similar personalities no longer have those protections.
Twitter has also had other problems with user labels. Several major media organizations, including NPR and PBS, have left Twitter over objections to the social site’s “government-funded media” designation. These outlets say that while they maintain strict editorial independence the label unfairly reflects government influence over their content. The death of the legacy checkmark underscores this struggle — with critics worried Twitter is eroding trust in its quest to earn more revenue from subscriptions.